Hi,
We recently received landing papers and passports with immigrant visas. We are going to have baby in few weeks( new addition to the family ) and so can not land before baby´s birth on health and insurance reasons. We are planning to land before the expiry of our immigrant visas.

So I want to know whether we can land with baby as visitor on US passport and sponsor baby later from Canada. Are we going to have any issues at the Port of Entry, do they let us in.

I already wrote to Immigration authorities about my concern after receiving passports and they wrote back saying that they cannot add baby now as my case got finalized already.

They mentioned in the letter to land before the " Expiry of visas " or else return the unused visas and COPR docs for return of landing fee. I am planning to land before the expiry of visas but with " newborn ". I am worried to write to them again.

Please advise.

I cannot give you an expert opinion on this matter, but AFAIK, you must land before the baby is born, or not land at all.

If the baby is born *before* you land, you will have to return the visas and have the baby added to the application.

So your valid options are -

1. Land now and have the baby in Canada (cleanest option)

2. Land now, go back to the US, have the baby there.
Then move to Canada, settle yourself and sponsor the baby as a dependent (you will have to qualify as a sponsor first, I believe).

3. Not land at all.

I could be wrong about this though because I vaguely remember reading something like this long time back.

Maybe things have changed now.

I suggest you post this question in the "Ask Immigration Expert" section, or consult an immigration attorney based in Canada ASAP.

If you are not sure, do not take any step that could mess things up for you.

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"Mah deah, there is much more money to be made in the destruction of civilization than in building it up."

-- Rhett Butler in "Gone with the Wind"

I met someone recently who went thru exactly the same situation as yours. He opted to land before the baby's birth. He solved the problem by landing in Saskechwan where health insurance starts from day one of landing. Not all provinces have a wait time for medical insurance coverage.I know atleast Alberta, Saskechwan, Manitoba offer full health coverage upon arrival.

http://www.health.gov.ab.ca/ahcip/faq/moving.html

If you are moving or returning to Alberta from outside Canada, you may be eligible for coverage on the date of your arrival. To ensure coverage, you must register within three months of arrival. Newcomers to Canada are required to present a copy of their Canada entry document. Please contact us for more information if you or your dependants hold temporary immigration documents. To apply for coverage download the Application for Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan Coverage AHC 102.

http://www.gov.mb.ca/health/mhsip/index.html#new2Canada

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What can be imagined, can be achieved.

i agree with praticks suggestions.

If ur landing in Ontario, do go thru these FAQ, if u havent already :
http://www.health.gov.on.ca/english/public/program/ohip/ohipfaq_dt.html#Q1

For Ontario, To the best of my knowledge (from my personal experience from back in June 2004), For the 3 months wait period, it doesnt matter what date u land, the month in which u land here is counted as one full month. So, if u land here this week, then January will be counted as 1 full month. So effectively, u will be out of insurance for 2 months only.

BTW, How many weeks before ur baby is due?

Perhaps u could buy a private insurance for the first 2 months. That could probably be the best option.

Maybe ur existing US insurance will cover u during this transition period. Did u check that? Lots of times as special cases, on a case-by-case basis, they do negotiate. Maybe its ur Insurance companies standard policy and not something that needs negotiation.

bison

See that... Probably thats ur answer....(from Misthar India )

Land in one of these provinces right away.... and u will be eligible for health coverage from that province starting day one.

bison

I don't know about other provinces, but in the City of Toronto, you may have a tough time finding a gync. doctor who will accept your case, after a certain stage has passed in the pregnancy.
There are huge queues for registration at hospitals and all doctors are overworked and maxed out.

If you land in Ontario, you may want to consider initially settling in a town/city other than Toronto.
Some areas in the GTA are better off in terms of doctors and hospital availability than the City of Toronto.

This is an important factor to consider because if no gync. is ready to accept you then it's not good.

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"Mah deah, there is much more money to be made in the destruction of civilization than in building it up."

-- Rhett Butler in "Gone with the Wind"

Hi Chichhu,

Your post indicates you are in the USA. According to posts I have seen on another site, and as you too have heard, you may bring the baby as a US citizen to Canada and then apply to the CIC to sponsor him from within Canada under the family class immigration.

A US citizen can enter and stay in Canada without visa for upto six months.

Check out the above with a Canadian Consulate near you.

However, as other posters have pointed out, if your visas indicate your province of settlement is Ontario, you may not have health coverage for yourself or your baby for 3 months from the date of your arrival.

Regards - ezrider

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Regards - ezrider